Between The Raindrops
by Jameson Rook
Summary: "When the walls come down, you'll know I'm here to stay, there's nothing I would change. Knowing that together everything that's in our way, we're better than alright. Walking between the raindrops, riding the aftershock beside you." A series of three song fics written for MissTink1987.
1. Chapter 1: Between The Raindrops

_**Disclaimer: Burn Notice and all of its characters belong to Matt Nix and the USA Network. The songs herein belong to their respective artists. **_

_** The idea for these 3 one shots came from a song request list that **_**MissTink1987**_**sent to me. Thank you, deary, for enduring my ramblings and such! I hope you like these ideas! Anyone else that has a two or three song request list that they would like me to write to, let me know and I'll give it a whirl.**_

_** Timeline: this is a year or so (I think) after the mid-season premiere. There is a slight reference to that at the end of this fic.**_

_"Look around, there's no one but you and me,_

_Right here, and now, the way it was meant to be._

_There's a smile on my face, knowing that together, everything that's in our way,_

_We're better than alright. _

_Walking between the raindrops, riding the aftershock beside you._

_Off into the sunset, living like there's nothing left to lose._

_Chasing after gold mines, crossing the fine lines, we knew._

_Hold on, and take a breath, I'll be here every step,_

_Walking between the raindrops with you."_

_-"Between The Raindrops" Lifehouse feat. Natasha Bedingfield_

I winced, sucking in a sharp breath between my clenched teeth as Fiona brushed the cotton ball, which was soaked in disinfectant, across the wound on my forehead.

"_Ow! _Jesus, Fi." I snarled through my teeth, pulling my head back out of her reach for a moment.

"Oh, Michael, quit being such a baby and come back here." She rolled her eyes and wrapped her free hand around the back of my neck, pulling me closer. I tried to contain the grumble of pain that bubbled through my chest as she went back to the task at hand, but couldn't. Fiona chuckled and dabbed the rest of the wound before dressing the wound quickly.

I scowled up at her from where I was perched on the barstool when she placed a sarcastically loud kiss over the wound.

"There. All better now?" She questioned, her voice overly saturated in sweetness. My eyes narrowed at her, but I couldn't help the way that my lips twitched upward. "You know, if you didn't go running into every building like you are indestructible, this would happen a lot less."

"That little kid was in trouble, Fi. I couldn't wait for you guys to get there, he would have died."

"I know. You're a good man, Michael Westen." She smirked, settling onto my lap heavily and wrapping her arms around my neck, kissing me deeply. I groaned softly.

"Fi, we have to go to the birthday party." I murmured againt her lips. Nate's son was turning two that day, and my mother was hosting a birthday party at her house, and it was the first time that she had willingly invited me to any sort of event since...well, since Nate. "I don't want to be late." I whispered, nuzzling my nose against hers as my hands roamed her back. Her skin was always so warm. So soft.

"Hmm, somethings are worth being late for, Michael." She ground her hips against mine once, drawing another groan from me. My fingers fell to her hips, holding her in place, and she pouted down at me.

"Fi, I really, _really_ would love to finish this," I gestured vaguely between us. "But, I don't want to be late to this. Ma will be pissed, and I think I'm just starting to get back on her good side." She sighed and nodded, placing a single, chaste kiss to my lips. We both stood from the store slowly, our chests brushing and sending a small electric pulse through my body. I clenched my jaw, my eyes fluttering shut at the contact. "Damn..." I whimpered, reaching out and gripping her biceps in my hands.

"Tell me about it." Fiona chuckled, kissing the hollow of my throat once before moving to put some distance between us. I immediately missed the warmth of her skin against mine and felt my lower lip forming a slight pout. She let out a loud, carefree chuckle at the sight and shook her head, bringing a grin to my own face. "Come on, we need to get going, Michael. Wouldn't want to be late to the party." She smirked, swaying her hips as she walked out of the loft, waiting for me to follow.

My teeth closed over my bottom lip as I tilted my head to the side and watched after her. I would never tire of the sight of her walking out of a room. It wasn't until she turned back to me, her hand braced on the open doorway and her brow furrowed when she asked if I was coming with her, that I snapped out of my trance and jogged after her. We both slipped into the seats of the Charger easily before speeding towards my mother's house, stealing glances at one another covertly on the ride.

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Sam, Elsa, and Jesse were already at my mom's house when we arrived to the small gathering. Mom had a couple of her friends playing bridge with her on the back patio, Jesse was chasing Charlie around the backyard, his arms outstretched in case the wobbly toddler fell, and Sam was sitting in a lawn chair, mojito in hand, and his arm around Elsa, watching the scene in front of him with an amused smirk. He waved at me and Fi when we rounded the house.

"Hey, Mikey." He smiled, standing and clapping my shoulder lightly.

"Sam, Elsa." I greeted shortly, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to the other as I glanced across the backyard to where my mother was laughing, honest to God laughing for the first time in ages, at something one of her friends had said. Her eyes met mine across the party and the smile fell a bit, though it was still there, parading itself as though it wasn't paper thin and more fake than the orange spray tan her friend had. "Excuse me." I muttered, stepping away from the group after I placed a kiss to Fiona's head.

I started taking long, measured strides across the backyard, but I was cut off halfway to my mother's seat by a smaller woman. Fuck. I forgot Ruth would be there...I hadn't seen her since Nate's funeral. However, her eyes weren't flaming with the rage that I had been expecting. Instead, they were wet with the mosture of pain, and of loss, and of grief. My heart twisted in my chest as I saw her.

"Ruth, I..." I breathed, my voice barely audible over the joyus babbling of my nephew as Jesse scooped him up and tickled him.

"Save it, Michael. I know that it wasn't your fault. Nate was trying," She swallowed around the tears that I could tell were threatening to overtake her. "He was trying to help you. That's all he ever wanted, you know? He wanted you to be proud of him. He talked about you all the time."

"I'm so sorry. I never should have gotten him involved in any of this." I whispered, not allowing my eyes to break from hers, despite the urge in the pit of my stomach to turn and run until I hit the ocean.

"You're not listening. I don't blame you for Nate's death. He died fulfilling the only goal that he had ever wanted to accomplish. He helped you get your wife back," My gaze flicked to where Fiona was watching intently, her eyes meeting mine in a silent comforting gesture. I didn't even bother to correct Ruth about Fi being my wife. Instead, my thumb brushed over my bare ring finger on my left hand subconciously. "And he helped to get rid of a bad man. I just wanted you to know that I don't blame you."

Her arms wrapped around my shoulders, holding me close. I tensed for a moment, unsure of what I was supposed to do, before I wrapped an arm around her and hugged her tightly. When she pulled away, I opened my mouth to say something to her, but her hand landed over my mouth and she shook her head.

"Let him go, Michael. You have to give him the oppourtunity to be the hero that he always wanted to be. Don't take that away from him by feeling sorry for yourself." She whispered, patting the side of my face and smiling sadly at me before side stepping and taking Charlie from where he was outstretching his arms in Jesse's embrace. He giggled and patted her face softly.

Shaking off the traces of saddness in my gut, I continued to where my mother was now standing, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched me. I stopped a few feet in front of her, my hands tucked in my pockets because I wasn't exactly sure what I was supposed to do.

"Hello, Michael." She whispered, her voice raspy. The simple sound of her addressing me without venom dripping from the words.

"Hey, Ma." I replied, a small grin spreading across my face. "Charlie's growing up fast. He looks just like Nate." Mom nodded, taking a drag off of the cigarette that was hanging from her fingers.

"Yes, he does." She said, her mind obviously in a different time. I knew that look, it was the look that she got when she recalled memories of me and Nate as children. "It's good to see you, Michael."

"It's good to see you too, Ma." I replied, outstretching my arms. My chest warmed when she stepped forward without hesitation and pillowed her head on my shoulder. I held her tightly for a long time before I finally released her. She brushed my cheek with her fingers.

"You're a good boy, Michael. I'm sorry that I was so awful to you."

"I understand why you were, Ma. I let you down."

"You didn't let me down. I was upset, but I understood. Now, you go have a good time with everyone. It's your nephew's birthday, try to have fun." She winked before turning away from me and sitting back at the bridge table.

I had a large grin still plastered on my face when I returned to the rest of my little group and tucked my arm around Fiona's waist.

"How'd it go?" She whispered, kissing my cheek gently.

"It went," I sighed a breath of relief and nodded, looking down at her happily. "It went really well, Fiona. And, tomorrow, we're going to go find that house that I promised you." She quirked an eyebrow curiously at me.

"Michael, we already have an apartment, what are you talking about?"

"Yeah, but I think having a house will be easier to raise the kids. Maybe even a dog. Yeah," I nodded, more to myself than to her. "Definitely a dog."

"K-kids?" She questioned, her eyes lighting up. Fiona had been hinting about wanting children for quite some time. The sight of my nephew, running in circles with his carefree laughter permeating the air made me realize that, perhaps there was more than just the wonderful world of the CIA to live for. "You mean that?"

"I mean every word, Fiona." I whispered, kissing the top of her head gently. "I love you."

"I love you too, Michael." She grinned, tucking her head under my chin. Fiona had always been it for me. She'd been there through thick and thin, even when the shit storm of my life was raining down around us. She had broken out her raincoat and rubber boots, and we'd puddle jumped our way out of the storm, hand in hand. I loved her with all of my heart, and, at the end of a long day, that was all that mattered, right?

It isn't about learning to avoid the storm that makes every day worth living. It's about finding someone that means more than life itself to you, and learning to dance in the spaces in between the raindrops.


	2. Chapter 2: Never Stop

_** As for timeline, these will all be along the same time line. This takes place about two years after the last chapter. **_

_"And with this love song to you, it's not a momentary phase._

_You are my life, I don't deserve you, but you love me just the same._

_And as the mirror says we're older, I will not look the other way,_

_And that's the one thing that won't change._

_I'll never stop trying, I'll never stop watching as you leave,_

_I'll never stop losing my breath every time I see you looking back at me._

_I'll never stop holding your hand, I'll never stop opening you door._

_I'll never stop choosing you, babe, I'll never get used to you."_

_-"Never Stop" Safetysuit_

The lights from the carnival stands flickered across Fiona's face as we made our way through the crowds of people. I would never get over the way her eyes lit up when we went to the carnival.

"Ooo!" She squeaked, extending her arm out in front of her to point at something. I glanced up ahead of us and let out a deep chuckle when I caught sight of the green and gold sign that spun above the stand.

"Funnel cakes, Fi? Really?" She glanced up at me and scowled playfully.

"Come on now, Michael, I know that you like funnel cakes as much as I do. Nice try. Do you want one?" I thought for a moment, but the beckoning calls of my sweet tooth won out. I grinned and nodded, pulling money out of my pocket and extending it to her. She was about to grab the bill before I pulled it away quickly. "What the hell?" She questioned, quirking an eyebrow curiously at me.

"It'll cost you." I whispered, my voice barely loud enough to be heard over the hustle and bustle of the crowd. I leaned in, my lips hovering over hers briefly before she returned my smile and leaned up, pressing her lips against mine. I hummed contentedly before pulling away. She pulled the money from my hand and began skipping towards the stand.

I couldn't help sneaking a peek as she left, my eyes blatantly scanning her backside. She tossed a look over her shoulder at me, catching me red handed. Fi sent my a playful, warning glare and I held my hands up in surrender, whistling innocently and looking away. It never ceased to amaze me that that beautiful, maddening, eccentric, and (slightly) dangerous woman was mine.

"You know, Mikey, if you keep that goofy grin on your face too long it'll freeze that way." Sam's voice startled me from my thoughts and I turned to face him. He was clad in his signature Tommy Bahama and a pair of khaki cargo shorts. Jesse was beside him, looking a bit..._less_ casual in a white t-shirt and dark blue jeans. He seemed to be completely enthralled in the candy apple in his hand.

"I don't know, Sam, that's what they used to tell me about scowling, but just look at me now." I gave him a sarcastically broad smile with far too many teeth. Sam chuckled and nodded his agreement.

"Fair enough. Where's Fi gone off to?" I hooked a thumb over my shoulder to where she was _liberally_ applying powdered sugar to the funnel cake in her hand with a grin that boarded on illegally adorable. Sam pulled the sunglasses on his face down to the edge of his nose and peered over them at her. "That girl is going to put herself into a sugar coma one of these days."

"Yeah, right, Sam. There's no such thing as too much of a good thing." Jesse interjected around a mouthful of candy apple. His lips were dyed a comical shade of red, drawing a chuckle from both of us. "What?" He questioned, quirking his brow curiously. "Something in my teeth?" He flashed his teeth, which were full of flecks of the red, candy shell.

"Nope. You're good." Sam replied, clapping him on the shoulder. "So, are there any new cases that we're going to be running?" Fiona strode up behind us, her free arm wrapping around my waist while she waved the aromatic funnel cake under my nose.

"Not as of now, Sam. The only thing that we need to focus on right now, is relaxing...that's what normal people do on their time off, right?" I questioned. Jesse scoffed.

"Please, like _any _of us have room to call ourselves normal." He muttered, shaking his head.

"What do you guys want to do now?" Fiona smiled, dropping her hand and pulling a piece of the funnel cake off before popping it into her mouth, groaning and chewing as though it was the best thing that had ever happened.

"Well, now I'm getting a bit jealous of a pastry, which I'm pretty sure isn't healthy." I chuckled, leaning down the kiss the tiny flecks of powdered sugar away from the corners of her lips. I flicked the tip of my tongue over her lips softly, pulling another groan from her.

"You two are horrifying." Jesse stated. Sam nodded emphatically.

"It's true. No couple should be _that_...sweet. It's disgusting, and we need to do something about it." I barked out a laugh and shoved their shoulders, nudging them down the midway. The four of us walked under the lights slowly, exploring all of the vendors tents as we went along.

I reached down and twined my fingers with Fi's, squeezing her hand gently. She glanced up at me, a soft smile on her lips. This was my favorite version of Fiona. It was the version that ran a cloth over the snowglobes that we'd spent so much time replacing after the loft. That curled up under our blanket in her favorite chair with coffee and a book when the rain of hurricane season pelted the windows. The one that teared up when the baby penguin got seperated from its mother on a nature documentary. This was _my_ Fi. The one that no one else got to see.

She tugged my hand, causing me to stop as we stood in front of one of the carnival games. It was the game with the milk jugs and baseballs that was in every cliched teen movie. I followed her gaze to where there was a large, over stuffed pink monkey hanging from the awning of the game trailer. I chuckled, placing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Let me guess, you want the monkey?" I whispered into her ear. She smiled shyly, brushing a curl behind her ear, and nodded at me. I kissed her knuckles softly before walking over to the trailer, handing the acne riddled teenager money.

Far too much money, and a potentially torn rotator cuff later, Fiona was walking up the driveway beside me, tucked under my arm and against my side, with the monkey clutched in her arms. She smiled at me once again, a full toothy smile that put another flutter in my stomach.

"Thank you, Michael." She whispered as I unlocked the door and we stepped inside.

"For what?" I questioned, unsure of where she was going with the statement. She set the monkey on the ground and stepped closer, wrapping her arms around my shoulders.

"For tonight. For the past year. For everything." I reached between us and slipped my hand under her shirt, my fingers splaying across her stomach as I grinned down at her before dropping to my knees in front of her. I placed a kiss over the stomach as I felt the soft fluttering of my son under my lips. I smiled up at her.

"Thank _you_ for giving me everything I never knew I always wanted." She ran her fingers through my hair softly as I nuzzled my nose back against her stomach.

This was it. This was what I had been fighting my entire life for. A happy family. Fiona's wedding ring caught on a strand of my hair, reminding me of that day a year before that we had said "I do" in front of our closest friends and family. The image of Sam reading the ceremony after being ordained in order to marry us.

And then there was the memory of the day that Fi had come to me, with terrified tears in her eyes and a pregnancy test in her hand. The first time I saw the little blip of static on the sonogram that signaled a strong heart beat. The day that the technician had said "congratulations Mister and Misses Westen, it's going to be a boy". I would never stop loving them with my entire heart, and I would _never_ become my father, as much of a worry as that had intitially been.

"And thank you for reminding me what is really important. I will never let you down, little man, and I hope that I never let you down. I will protect you until the day that I give my last breath. I love you," I sucked in a deep breath and kissed Fi's stomach again before continuing. "Nate."


	3. Chapter 3: Remind Me

_**I'm so glad that you guys are all enjoying this! This is the last chapter in this series, so I can get back to writing "What We Fight For" because this has captivated my brain and would not let me write the next chapter...anywho, this is about seven years after the last installment. The intro to this chapter is inspired by the fact that I'm watching "Couples Retreat" and Vince Vaughn is hilarious. If you've never seen the movie just...ignore that statement...**_

_"Do you remember how it used to be? _

_We'd turn out the lights, and didn't just sleep._

_Remind me, baby, remind me._

_Oh, so on fire, so in love, that look in your eyes I miss so much._

_Remind me, baby, remind me._

_I want to feel that way. Yeah, I wanna hold you close._

_Oh, if you still love me, don't just assume I know, baby, remind me, remind me._

_Do you remember the way it felt?_

_You mean back when we couldn't control ourselves?_

_Remind me, yeah, remind me._

_All those things that you used to do that made me fall in love with you,_

_Remind me, oh baby, remind me._

_You'd wake up in my old t-shirt, all those mornings I was late for work, remind me._

_Oh, baby, remind me."_

_-"Remind Me" Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood_

I startled awake, squinting at the light streaming through the window and grumbled into my pillow. It wasn't much longer before two sets of tiny feet were hopping up and down on the bed.

"What's going on? Everything okay? Honey? Fiona?" I groaned, pulling the pillow over my head, but it was torn off the bed almost immediately.

"Daddy, you gotta wake up! It's Halloween!" Came a squeaky voice from above me. It wasn't until tiny knees connected with the small of my back that I turned over, grimacing from the pain, and wrapped Nate in my arms, pinning him to my chest.

"You know that Halloween isn't like Christmas, right? We can't start trick or treating before night time." I chuckled, ruffling Nate's mocha hair softly before kissing his forehead. He scowled down at me.

"Of course I know that, Daddy." He replied. I laughed loudly and turned to where a pair of green eyes were staring at me.

"Hey, buddy, how'd you sleep?" I smiled down at Marcus, our four year old. He stared at me a moment before whispering his repsonse.

"I peed." My eyes flicked down to the bed and then back up to Marcus, who had an innocent smile on his face.

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"Good morning, Michael." Fiona called from where she was stirring something near our stove. She quirked her eyebrow when she looked over and saw me carrying Marcus down the stairs with our bedding tucked under my arm. "What are you doing?"

"Marcus peed. In our bed." I replied, tossing the sheets into the washing machine and setting Marcus on the floor. He ran across the kitchen on chubby, barefeet and wrapped his arms around Fi's waist.

"Oh...I see." She replied, chuckling softly and lifting him to place a soft kiss to the top of his head. "Go wash your hands so you can have breakfast, little one." I watched as Marcus and Nate took off down the hallway and into the bathroom. I placed a chaste kiss to the corner of Fi's lips, not even allowing her to turn her head fully.

"Are you taking Nate and Marcus trick or treating tonight?" I questioned, opening the fridge to grab a yogurt and pouring myself a glass of water.

"Michael, we talked about this, we were both going to take them this year." Fiona sighed, the spatula in her hand falling to her side. "Remember?" I scratched at the back of my head a moment, leaning against the counter and sipping my water. The front door swung open, revealing Sam and Jesse. My jaw hung open when they stepped in.

Sam was clad in black from head to toe, with a pointed mask on his head, and Jesse was looking a bit distraught in a green and red jump suit.

"Um...what the hell is going on with you two?" Fiona questioned, quirking a brow. I wanted to make a comment, I really did, but my brain couldn't seem to formulate anything other than an amused chuckle.

"We're ready for Halloween." Sam smirked, sauntering over and leaning on the breakfast bar. "We've come to tell you that we're going to take the boys off of your hands tonight to take them trick or treating, and then they're going to come spend the night at my place. We're going to go get breakfast at my favorite diner tomorrow morning."

"What are you supposed to be, Sam?" I questioned when I finally regained my voice.

"What does it look like, Mikey?" He held his arms out and spun in a circle. "I'm Batman." I tried to stifle the laugh that threatened to break out. I turned my attention to where Jesse was trying his best to melt into the wall.

"And that would make you-."

"Yes. I'm Robin. Shut up, or I'mma make you eat your own shoe." Jesse cut me off, pointing his finger at me menacingly. I raised my hands by my head in surrender.

"Hey, I'm not going to judge you for wanting to be a sidekick."

"I didn't _want_ to be a sidekick! I wanted to be Batman!" Sam chuckled and nodded.

"It's true. I beat him at arm wrestling though, so he got to be my little boy toy." Jesse, Fi, and I all grimaced at the statement.

"That came out _so_ wrong." Jesse grumbled, shaking his head. The boys running down the hallway interrupted the conversation.

"Uncle Sam! Uncle Jesse!" They squealed in unison, both of them throwing themselves at Jesse and Sam. I glanced at Fiona, quirking an eyebrow curiously. She shrugged and moved to stand next to me, though she kept a few inches between us.

That was how it had been for a while. We would wake up in the morning, give each other a quick kiss, and then rarely have much more contact before falling back into bed and passing out on contact with the pillows. Such was the life of married people with children.

"What do you guys mean that you're taking them out?" I voiced the question that had been unspoken between Fi and myself.

"Because you guys need a break." I opened my mouth to protest, but Sam raised his hand to cut me off. "Don't try to tell me that you don't, Mike. When was the last time you two went out to dinner, just the two of you?"

I thought for a moment, grasping for anything that resembled a date in my recent memory, but I was drawing a blank. The blank look on Fiona's face was enough to tell me that she was in the same position.

"I guess you're right." I grumbled, running my hands over my hair and shrugging.

"So, you're going to go out to dinner, we're going to take care of the kids, and you're not going to worry about anything." Jesse stated, leaning against the doorframe and crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm sorry, man, but it's really, _really_ hard to take you seriously when you're wearing a Robin suit." Sam chuckled. Jesse shot him a death glare and shook his head.

"It was _your_ idea!" I listened to the two of them bickering back and forth for a moment before turning to Fiona.

"So, what do you think?" I whispered. She pulled half a shrug and nodded.

"Why not? They're offering to take the boys out, and I haven't had a night with just you in God knows how long, Michael. It could be fun. I'll put on one of those dresses that you like so much, and we'll have a date night." I smiled down at her and wrapped my arm around her waist.

"Okay, Fi, okay. If it's a date night you want, it's a date night we'll have."

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Sam and Jesse had come to pick up the boys a few hours before, and I had been sitting on the couch for going on an hour, waiting for Fiona to come downstairs.

"Fi, if we don't get out of here soon the kids are going to be back." I called out, sipping the beer in my hand. Every thought had left my mind, however, and the bottle nearly slipped from my fingers when Fiona rounded the corner in a tight, short black dress. I was pretty sure I almost swallowed my own tongue when I tried to say something, and the only thing that I could manage was a croak.

She chuckled and strode over to the couch, pulling me to my feet, and wrapped her arms around my shoulders. I hooked mine around her waist and pulled her flush against me.

"You are so beautiful, Fi." I whispered, brushing my nose against hers. "It has been _way_ too long since we did this."

"I know. I can't remember the last time we had an empty house." She chuckled, tucking her head under my chin. I placed a soft kiss to her hair and smiled.

"I think it was in the old apartment. Or possibly the loft. Do Sam and Jesse count as children?" I chuckled. She swatted at my chest playfully before leaning up to kiss me tenderly. I smiled, pulling away reluctantly. "You ready for dinner?"

"Do you think that we should just stay in tonight? Maybe take advantage of not having to share our bed?" I raised my eyebrows in aroused surprise and ran my fingers over the exposed skin of her back.

"Why, Misses Westen, I don't think that you've ever had a better idea." Fiona smirked and leaned up to kiss me, but I pulled out of her reach quickly. She scowled at me and let out a disappointed groan. "There's one condition, though."

"What might that be?" I leaned behind her and grabbed a small remote off of the coffee table before clicking on the stereo in the entertainment center. The slow sound of the country song filtered through the apartment. I knew that Fiona (secretly) loved country music, and, truth be told, it was growing on me as well. The song was more fitting than any song should ever rightfully be.

"Would ya like ta dance?" I whispered in her ear gruffly, the smooth, Irish lilt of Michael McBride coming easily. I knew that the shiver that ran through her body was, in no way, caused by anything but the rough scrape of my breath washing over her ear. She nodded and we began to sway softly back and forth together.

I pressed my cheek to the top of her head, the stubble of the day catching on the strands lightly. I smirked at the tickle of her breath on my throat, causing her to pull back and look up at me, a grin on her own face. The crinkle of laugh lines were a bit more prominent around her eyes these days, but she was still the most beautiful woman in the world. Not that I could say much, time had taken it's toll on me as well, the peppering of grey in my five o'clock shadow and my temples was enough of a reminder of that.

Fiona's fingers burrowed themselves into my hair and pulled me down for a deep kiss, drawing a groan from the back of my throat when her tongue flicked over the roof of my mouth. My fingers tightened on her hips roughly enough that I was pretty sure there would be bruises the next morning. I was a bit shocked when her leg swept around the back of mine and I felt myself falling until my back connected with the floor. I gave a quiet 'oof' as the air rushed out of my lungs.

"Jesus, Fi, a little warning wouldn't kill you." I chuckled, looking up at her in her position on my chest. She smirked and kissed the end of my nose.

"Well, now that would just ruin the element of surprise, wouldn't it?" I let out a loud laugh and shook my head.

"Some things never change, Fi." Her teeth grazed my bottom lip harshly enough to pull a yelp from me, but her tongue swept over the offending wound and calmed any protests I had. "You remember the night we got married?" I questioned, the words muffled into the kiss she laid on my lips.

"The coat room?" Fiona questioned, pulling away enough so that we could look at one another. I nodded, loving the way her eyes lit up at the memory that I knew was flashing through her mind. "Of course I remember. You tore my wedding dress on one of the coat hooks."

"Hey, it's not my fault. Those hooks should have been up higher."

"I don't think the architect had planned on people being shoved against the wall that way." She chuckled, her hands running under my shirt. A shudder travelled through my body and I shifted our positions, pinning her beneath my body weight.

"Let's go to bed, Fi." I whispered, my voice gruff with pent up arousal.

"Oh? Tired already, Mister Westen?" She gave me a devilish grin and I narrowed my eyes playfully up at her.

"Oh, no, Fi. I don't intend on doing much sleeping tonight. I'm going to remind you of all the reasons you fell in love with me." I growled, nipping her ear.

"You think that I fell in love with your...prowess?" She teased in response.

"I think that it helped my case, yes." I pressed my hips forward, my slacks dragging against the fabric of her dress. She groaned and let her head fall back. "You can't deny that we were a bit insatiable back in our younger years."

"Well, we're not dead yet, Michael. I'm sure that spark is still there." I stood swiftly, lifting her with me and headed towards our bedroom, my lips latched onto hers as I poured everything that I felt for that amazing woman into a single kiss. A groan permeated the air between us, though I couldn't tell which one of us it had eminated from, as I moved through the bedroom door and we fell into our bed.

That was where all coherent thought flew out the window and dissolved into a blur of feral growls, tearing clothes, kisses with more bites in between than breaths, and scratching nails. When we both collapsed against one another hours later, our sweat cooling on our flesh, and our chests heaving, I couldn't help the self-satisfied smile on my face.

"See? Prowess. Definitely high up there on the 'reasons you stuck around' list, right?" I gasped, trying to regulate my breathing. Seriously, that age thing was catching up with me...

"Definitely top ten." Fiona agreed, her breathing as ragged as my own.

"_Top ten_?" I scoffed, propping myself up on my elbow to look down at her. She nodded coyly, and I scowled at her before leaning down and engaging her in another heated kiss. If I had my way, I intended on moving from 'top ten' to number one by the time the sun crested the horizon.

Back in Ireland, you couldn't have pried Fi and I apart with grease and a crowbar. We could never seem to keep our hands off of each other, even in those first few months. The attraction had been immediate and I couldn't deny that there had been more than one occasion where I had been tempted to tell her everything about the op we were running for the chance to spend the rest of my life in her arms. We were meant to be together, like we were then and like we were going to be again, since day one. And I was going to remind her of that fact every day until the day that I stopped breathing.

'Til death do us part was more than just a vow that I had repeated. It was a mission that I was commited to. It was a promise that I intended to keep. Always.

_**You guys don't even know how hard it was for me to not go SUPER smutty with that last scene. I was going to. Hell, I even wrote it super smutty the first time, but I thought better of it and rewrote it. I hope you guys enjoyed this!**_

_** Much love,**_

_** J. Rook**_


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